Non-alcoholic wine & your health

By Mary Malik

If you’re deep into your own “Dry January” challenge, how’s it going so far?

Last month, we suggested that non-alcoholic (NA) wines might be a way to still enjoy the taste of wine while remaining technically “dry.” As you sip on your soft beverage of choice, here are a few interesting facts about NA wines, courtesy of Jim Sperk of the Northern Ohio Wine Guild.

“There are several ways to make NA wines,” says Jim. “The two main processes are reverse osmosis and vacuum distillation. Both methods start with wines containing alcohol and then concentrating the alcohol out of the wine. Unfortunately, these processes remove some of the floral aromas as well as tannins in the process.”

Jim says that on a positive note, removing the alcohol does not remove any of the antioxidants that are so beneficial for cardiovascular health.

“In fact, in a study conducted on a group of men with heart disease, those that consumed NA wine showed measurable improvement in their health when compared to those that drank regular wine or other alcoholic beverages,” says Jim. “Other studies suggest that NA red wine might be used to treat people with heart disease.”

As promised last month, the rules and regulations around the purchase of NA beverages can be confusing. While no license is required to sell NA beer, NA wine—for some unknown reason—requires a liquor license and can only be purchased by an adult over the age of 21.

“While NA whiskey does exist, it does not require a liquor license and can be sold to minors,” says Jim. “Who makes the laws? The same people who demand a warning label about sulfites on wine bottles—while a can of beans contains more sulfites, and dried fruits contain far more sulfites than wine.”

For information on the Northern Ohio Wine Guild, contact Jim Sperk at tinymoonwines@usa.net.